


All that Glitters is Not Gold

by harmony88



Series: Forever With You [14]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Blood and Violence, Drama, F/M, Romance, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:08:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28114386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harmony88/pseuds/harmony88
Summary: COMPLETEThe Doctor takes Rose to see some magic, but things go wrong and they have to solve a mystery and save some hostages, all while still trying to stay hopeful for their future.“You took me to see...magic?” she asked, squeezing his hand a little.“Well, I mean, I couldn’t let you think all that was out there were pathetic metal circles, could I? Some magic actually is rather impressive. Very scientific,” he said with a wag of his eyebrows. She stared at him.“Ten quid there’s something in there that stumps you,” she said.***Part of the Forever With You series, recommend reading other stories first***
Relationships: Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler
Series: Forever With You [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2030980
Comments: 8
Kudos: 140





	1. Everything Little Thing She Does is Magic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is a little darker than the others so far, with a little more violence. Just a warning!

They were in the media room, bundled under a blanket, watching a recording of a magic show Rose had discovered and was utterly fascinated by. The Doctor had no idea where it came from, and he honestly found it all silly. Some bits were truly repulsive, and he was doing his best not to scoff or let Rose feel his embarrassment for her through their many connections. He had every block up, but when the magician separated two metal circles and Rose gasped he couldn’t stop himself from laughing, and she dug her elbow into his side. 

“I’m sorry,” he said, trying to stifle his laughter. “You humans... are just so...gullible.” 

He was laughing harder now, and Rose was giving him a playful angry face, which was making him pull her closer to him as she squealed and tried to slither away, her goal to hit him with one of the throw pillows they tossed on the floor. 

“If it’s so predictable you try it!” she shouted. He gawked at her. 

“I do not have time, Rose. I am a Time Lord, I point and laugh at magicians,” he said seriously. She raised an eyebrow at him. 

“You don’t know how it’s done, do you?” she asked. 

“Of course I do,” he said, raising his eyebrow back. “Stay here.” 

He got up as her eyes followed him out of the room, and she smiled and bit her lip as she leaned back into the sofa. 

Hope, as it turns out, was their new best friend. 

It had been roughly two weeks since his mother’s second projection, according to the digital Earth calendar the Doctor keeps in the galley for her so she can mark special occasions and holidays when they come up. After spending two days with Jackie, they had spent the majority of that time in the Vortex, making one pit stop to Switzerland in 2099 for a romantic getaway that had, thankfully, gone perfectly. 

No robot bugs or other problems to solve that time. 

There were moments where Rose could sense agitation from him, but she could tell it was the restlessness of _not_ knowing what, when or how the potential timeline his mother talked about might be fulfilled. 

For the most part, they were happy. 

She did catch him scanning for a rift on their third day in the Vortex, but he assured her he was doing his due diligence, and wasn’t doing so because something triggered his fears. She chose to believe him. 

He sauntered back into the room with two metal disks, just like the ones Rose saw on the video, and he looked at her very seriously as he held one in each hand. “Say a magic word.” 

“Umm….” Rose said, and the Doctor rolled his eyes. 

“Anything, Rose,” he said. 

“Banana hammock!” she said swiftly, and he stared at her, shaking his head slightly and trying not to laugh at her again. “No, wait. Abra Cadabra” 

“Better,” he teased, and locked the two circles together. Rose clapped slowly for him. 

“Impressive. May I see?” she asked. She was speaking sweetly, batting her lashes, and he found himself biting his cheek to stop from smiling as he handed them to her. “Magic word?” 

“Abra Cadabra,” the Doctor said. She paused, having no idea how to separate the circles, but found the way he was looking at her completely intoxicating and she suddenly didn’t care about the tricks so much. She pulled out her sonic screwdriver and scanned them, breaking his composure and leaving him smiling seductively at her as she tossed them on the ground. “Huh. Science is sort of like magic, isn’t it?” 

“What was that?” he asked, taking a step toward her and pinning her to the couch. “Did you just...compliment science?” 

“I think I did,” she hummed. 

“I’ve never loved you more,” he said, and captured her in a kiss. She pulled him on top of her, her hands working to undo his tie and slide it off his neck. He smiled against the kiss, and shifted so she was laying flat, his body over hers as they continued to explore with their mouths. She moaned against him, and he enveloped himself in the sound, goosebumps rising on his arms and on the back of his neck. 

“I actually really do like magic, though -” she gasped as he began to remove her shirt. 

“Okay,” he agreed, sucking and nibbling on her skin. She gripped his hair. 

“No, seriously, I think - “ 

“Rose, I don’t care,” he told her with a smile, lapping his tongue against her clavicle. She dug her nails into the sofa, moaning. “Magic is brilliant, the best thing is the whole universe. Happy?” 

“Yes,” she said with a wide grin, and he stopped, clicking his tongue against his teeth. 

“Did you just say that thing about science to seduce me, Rose Tyler?” he asked. She bit her lip. 

“Did it work?” she asked. He groaned, thrusting against her a little. 

“Obviously,” he murmured, and kissed her again. She laughed a little until he somehow wrestled the rest of their clothing off, and his fingers slid into her. She saw a bright light as their minds connected. 

She was basking with sensations and feelings, and they both forgot about magic entirely. 

Rose kissed him fiercely as he continued to mold his body to hers, slow and steady, teasing and lingering, and they somehow rolled off the couch. Rose’s back pressed against the metal circles on the floor and she gasped when she felt how cold they were. He chuckled a little at her, and she bit his neck as she shifted so she was hovering above him, her skin touching his and her lips trailing everywhere they possibly could. 

It felt like his hearts were going to rip out of his chest as she rolled against him, and she sent him a flurry of emotions and fantasies, taking him out of reality for a moment and wrapping himself in the sensations she floored him with. 

“Rose…” he said, grasping her closer to him. 

“I love you,” she said. 

“I love you, too,” he said. 

Neither realized they said it in Gallifreyan, too enraptured with the moment. 

The Doctor swayed and shifted again, and they ended up just rolling back and forth, each trying to be in control. They made a rather fun and arousing game out of it, pressing each other against the floor and locking wrists at their sides, driving each other crazy until the Doctor caved and let Rose do whatever she wanted. She smiled in triumph, savoring him. 

And he thought to himself, as she screamed, illuminated by the screen behind them, that making love to his wife was probably his favorite thing in all the galaxies. Just him and Rose. 

Time standing still. 

Absolutely intoxicating. 

“Me too,” she whispered, and he smiled when he realized she heard every one of those thoughts. 

She took control again, and they felt the tension build until they had no choice but to burst, falling like the stars, bundled against each other and panting, and the Doctor pressed his lips to her forehead. 

She snuggled into him, when it suddenly hit him. 

His Impossible human. 

She wasn’t Time Lady, but she sure as hell acted like it. 

“Rose?” he said urgently, his hearts starting to pound in his chest. 

“Hm?” she mumbled. He began to rub her lower back just a little, a cocktail of excitement and yearning building inside of him. “What’s wrong?” 

He swallowed and clenched his jaw. “I love you.” 

He said it in Gallifreyan, and Rose’s eyes widened in understanding. 

“I love you,” she whispered, and he felt a rush of devotion and joy pierce his soul. The sounds rolled off her tongue perfectly, and the Doctor gripped her closer. “Oh my god.” 

“Yeah,” he whispered. Rose felt her heart skip a beat, and she pulled away from him a little, her breathing growing shallow. He brushed her hair back. “What is it?” 

“Will you...do a test?” she said softly. For two weeks she was waiting for some sign of a change after she looked into the Vortex for a second time, but her connection had been the same every time she focused on it. He sat up, lacing their hands together and just nodded. 

They moved silently to the infirmary. And Rose let him take a small blood sample, her temperature, and scanned her with his screwdriver. 

It all came back just as it always had. 

He looked at her, and felt the bubble burst, until he saw her smile and she grabbed his hand. Her touch ignited him, and their minds were still open to each other. Something inside Rose told her this wasn’t the end.

Instincts. 

Rose sent him a single thought. It can’t have been _that_ simple to get their forever future together. She would have done it four years ago. 

He smiled. Her unwavering faith was rubbing off on him. 

“I don’t know what I thought we’d find. But…” she began.

“No, I know,” he whispered. “I thought, too. Maybe.” 

“Yeah?” she asked. He nodded, and pulled her into a hug, both of them still very naked. 

“Of course, Rose,” he said. “But...it’s okay.” 

“I know,” she said. She could sense how overwhelmed he was feeling, and he squeezed her tightly. She smiled, realization hitting her, just as it hit him before. She was _learning._ “If nothing else, you can speak it again. One day, yeah? I know I have a long way to go, but...I dunno. Maybe it’s something we can teach our ki-” 

Oh, she didn’t mean to say that. 

He froze. 

“What?” he said, almost inaudibly, pulling away to look at her. Rose’s smile faltered, kicking herself. She hoped he hadn’t heard the word she almost let slip, and she just shook her head. 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it...it was a joke, truly. Just trying to make light of it all, you know?” she said, but he was staring at her. 

“Rose, do you want kids?” he asked, still almost too quietly for her to hear him. She shook her head.

“No. I mean, maybe, I mean...No. But if it’s something you want, then yeah, of course. But like...not for years, you know? I mean, I have my IUD now and I...But also, I don’t...I mean…” she stopped and sighed, trying to refocus her thoughts. She honestly hadn’t really thought about it, and this was certainly not how she imagined the conversation going. He was still staring, and she cupped a hand to his cheek, trying to assure him it really was just a slip up. Nothing serious. “All I want is you. Just you. I made my choice a long time ago, remember? I only need you...” she trailed off again, unsure of how to make this better. He had put his blocks up by now and was just watching her. She sighed. “Let’s forget about it, yeah?” 

He stared at her, unsure of what to say. There was so much he _wanted_ to say, but his defense mechanisms were beating on the gates around his hearts, begging him to run away, to deny her, to tell her he couldn’t open his hearts in that way again. 

But that was the devil on his shoulder, chastising him. And he knew, now, that there was also the angel in the shape of his mother on his other shoulder, and a promise of a future he was desperately chasing. 

Hope and potential were knocking at the gates too. 

A few months ago, he would have shut this conversation down, but now...

“Rose,” he said softly. “I…” 

“Doctor, seriously. Just forget I said -”

“No, I don’t want to,” he said suddenly, his hearts beating rapidly. “I mean… I … the thought of this...being, this...person...who would, hopefully, be a whole lot of you and, well, a little bit of me…” 

“What?” Rose asked, her heart beginning to pound. His fingers laced in hers and he stepped closer to her, pressing their hands in between his hearts. 

“Can we talk about this later? If…” he began, and closed his eyes, unable to voice his hopes out loud. But Rose, his clever girl, knew what he meant and she searched his face with her eyes, ignoring the pressure in her throat. 

She had those same hopes. 

She nodded, and pressed her forehead to his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, embracing her tightly. “We might be wrong, I mean. Who knows what my parents -” 

“Doctor,” Rose whispered. “Don’t do that.” 

“Sorry,” he muttered. They weren’t positive, but they were pretty damn sure. “Just have to wait and see.” 

“No,” Rose whispered. “We have to live our lives. Love one another. Enjoy every moment. Make choices as we go. Hold on tight.” 

His eyes locked with her hazel galaxies, and felt his throat tighten. Sometimes, he thought, she knew more after 22 years than he had learned in 905. One thing he did know, was that she continually amazed him. “Hold on very tight.” 

He kissed her, and cupped her cheeks with his hands, letting hope back in. He pulled away a moment later, a smile curling on his face. 

“I have an idea,” he said. “Let’s get dressed.” 

“Okay,” she said, smiling back. 

They held hands as they entered their bedroom, the magic tricks forgotten about. 

Or so she thought.


	2. The Magician's Lair

The Doctor, in his blue pinstripes and a black henley, flashed Rose a smile as he set the TARDIS on its course, and she rested against the console, wearing a muted green jumper and black jeans. She threw on some red lipstick, too, which the Doctor couldn’t stop looking at. 

“We’re okay, yeah?” she asked. He pulled her to him, hugging her. 

“Absolutely, long as you think so,” he murmured, kissing her hair. She nodded. 

“Yeah,” she said. And he smiled. 

“Good.” 

The TARDIS arrived, and the gentle spin of time shifting halted. The Doctor looked at Rose and wiggled his fingers on their way to the door. “Allons-y, Rose Tyler!” 

They were at a castle. 

The grass around them was bright green, and she could hear the ocean in the distance. 

“Called the Magician’s Lair,” he said, squinting against the sun in the sky. Rose bit her lip. 

“You took me to see...magic?” she asked, squeezing his hand a little. 

“Well, I mean, I couldn’t let you think all that was out there were pathetic metal circles, could I? Some magic actually is rather impressive. Very scientific,” he said with a wag of his eyebrows. She stared at him. 

“Ten quid there’s something in there that stumps you,” she said. He paused, flirting with her against the bright sun. 

“Fifteen,” he said. 

“Done.” 

They grinned at each other, and made their way to the entrance. 

It was an old castle, located in Scotland, and the Doctor told her it was built in the 1550s. It was originally meant to be a headquarters for the army, then was given other uses. It’s never been used by any royal families, ironically enough, but it’s been a film set, a training facility, and now, a spot for some really experienced magicians to show their work. 

The walls were stone and looked rather ancient, and when they walked into the lobby a velvet runner sat along the hallway, and ornate pictures of famous magicians dating back to 1812 hung on the walls. 

“What year is this?” Rose whispered under her breath. 

“1995,” he told her. The hallway was cold, but there were quite a few people inside, eagerly looking at the photos and waiting for the first show of the day to begin. The artillery closet had been transformed into a concession stand, and Rose watched with a crooked brow as people walked away with chocolates and pop, laughing and dropping their wrappers on the ground. 

“Honestly,” she groaned, and knelt down to pick it up. When she stood up, she was face to face with a tall burly man, and she jumped back. The Doctor, who had been looking at a photo on the wall, turned when he sensed her agitation, and began to move toward her. 

The man was glaring at her. 

“Sorry,” she said. “Just picking up a wrapper.” 

“Watch where you’re going,” he said with a thick Scottish accent. The Doctor turned his accent on. 

“Oh, there you are!” he cried, grabbing Rose by the waist. 

“Keep an eye on her,” the man said. Rose opened her mouth to protest, but the Doctor was already a step ahead of her. 

“That’s kinda rude, wouldn’t you say?” he asked. The man took a step forward. 

“Do I need to remove you both from the premises?” he asked sharply. The Doctor raised his eyebrows straight up to his head. 

“Who are you?” he asked. The man didn’t say anything, and Rose grabbed the Doctor’s hand. 

“Let’s go,” she whispered. The Doctor stared for a second longer, but turned and walked away with Rose, fighting the urge to look back over his shoulder as they entered the theater. 

It used to be the banquet hall, but now, against the stunning stained glass windows, sat a stage and lights, and bleacher style seating. 

The Doctor and Rose found a spot near the top and waited, until the first magician walked on stage. No one applauded as he held up his hand to prevent it, and the Doctor rolled his eyes. Rose smirked. 

He placed a table in the middle of the stage with a white cloth over it, and a hat. The Doctor bit his cheek when he did the _classic_ rabbit out of the hat trick, and Rose looked at him. 

“You know that one?” she asked. He sighed. 

“Yes,” he said. “But I love you, and I don’t want to spoil it for you, so I’m not telling.” 

She flashed him her signature smile and leaned against him, “I love you, too.” 

He did a few more basic tricks. A disappearing object in a bag, the hidden cloth of multiple colors, pulling a bouquet of roses from his suit. 

“You should try that,” Rose teased, and the Doctor just smirked at her and shook his head. 

“Amateur hour,” he teased. She grinned. 

The magician bowed and everyone applauded except the Doctor, but he did give one single clap when Rose nudged him with her knee and shot him a look. 

The second magician took the stage, and did a few more tricks, slightly more advanced from the first magician. He sawed his assistant in half, which made Rose grimace and the Doctor yawn. He shrunk a can down to half its size, and he turned a toy pigeon into a real one. He earned two claps from the Doctor. 

The third act came out on stage, a woman in a long purple and orange dress, with spikes popping off the shoulders. Her brown hair was slicked back perfectly and her eyeliner trailed onto her temples. Rose sat up, intrigued. The Doctor watched, leaning against the back wall. 

“My name is Madame Rowana,” she began. “Today, we are doing something that’s never been done before. I need a volunteer.” 

Rose raised her hand and the Doctor smiled at her, thinking she was adorable as the woman looked into the crowd, and her eyes settled on Rose. 

“You, in the green. Come,” she said. Rose bit her lip and smiled, squeezing the Doctor’s knee as she ran down the stairs to the stage. He sat up and watched her as she took a seat on a chair Madame Rowana had placed in the middle of the stage. 

“Now, I know many of you won’t be able to tell from looking at me, but I am a witch,” she said. The crowd began to laugh, the joke landing right where she wanted it. Her outfit did scream ‘Halloween’ the Doctor noticed with a small smirk, and he winked at Rose. “Today, I am going to practice a very specific and very special spell. What is your name?” 

“Rose,” she said. Madame Rowana smiled. 

“Rose, it is nice to meet you. Tell me, are you here with anyone?” she asked. Rose’s eyes darted up to the Doctor, who waved at her. 

“My husband, the Doctor” she said, and the crowd turned to him. He chuckled a little and Madame Rowana nodded. 

“Well, I promise she will come back in one piece,” she said with a wink to the Doctor. A small alarm went off in his head and Rose sent him reassurance. He leaned forward, watching carefully as Madame Rowana stepped behind Rose, and snapped her fingers. 

A single stemmed rose sat in the chair instead. 

The crowd let out a gasp, but the Doctor felt panic rise inside of him. Not because she was gone, it was probably an optical illusion, but because her blocks had gone up immediately and he could no longer hear her. He tried to nudge his mind to her, but he was met with resistance. 

Madame Rowana held her hand up, silencing the crowd, and snapped her fingers again. 

The Doctor heard a distinct ‘pop’ sound, and Rose appeared back in the chair, holding the rose. Everyone cheered, and the Doctor nudged his mind again. Rose wasn’t looking at him, but she did stand and hugged Madame Rowana, waving to the crowd. She eventually moved and sat beside him wordlessly, and he looked at her very closely. 

“Rose?” he asked. She looked at him, and let out a small smile. 

“Hello,” she said, and he eased a little. That word and smile were familiar at least. 

“How’s your head?” he asked. She stared at him, and didn’t say anything. He was worried now, and he wrinkled his brow at her, placing a hand on her forehead. She felt normal. “Rose, do you not want to let me in right now?” 

“Um...No,” she said. “Sorry.” 

He didn’t push her, but he did look at her with concern, and felt his stomach flip over. He looked back at Madame Rowana, who was repeating the trick with another volunteer, this time a baseball appeared on the chair. 

“Where’d you go, can you tell me that at least?” he asked, and Rose just shrugged. 

“Nowhere,” she said. He frowned. 

“Do you want to leave?” he asked. She nodded, and he slipped his hand into hers, relieved when she didn’t pull away, and they began to walk down the stairs as the crowd cheered, and headed to the lobby. 

But her hand wasn’t squeezing his in the way it normally did, and he stopped. “Rose, did I do something?” 

“No,” she said, and smiled at him. He frowned. The alarm bells were still sounding in his head and he felt his hearts beat rapidly in his chest. Anger began to bubble inside of him. 

“Okay, then did they do something? Did they...hurt you or -” he began, but she shook her head. 

“I’m fine,” she said. He clenched his jaw and moved to kiss her, but she didn’t kiss him back, not like usual. And her taste, the faint honey and slight sweetness he could only describe as Rose was gone. He stiffened. 

The fury of the Oncoming Storm began to brew. 

“What is my name?” he asked. She tilted her head to the side. 

“Doctor,” she said, rolling her eyes a little at him. He didn’t smile, and he took a step back, looking her over. 

“No. I mean, what is my _name?_ ” he asked. Her face fell, and she began to shift on her feet. He grabbed her, and threw her against the wall, his arm on her collarbone. “Where is she?” 

His voice was dark, calculated, and chilling. Rose trembled beneath him, and he had to actively remind himself that it wasn’t _her_ he was being violent with. But it was messing with his head too much to see her face scared of him, and he dropped her, raising his sonic screwdriver instead. “Where’s yours, then?”

“What’s that?” she asked. He adjusted his grip. If any of the other strange ways she had been acting wasn’t enough to tell him this wasn’t Rose, forgetting the sonic screwdriver sent him over the edge. 

“I am going to say this one more time. And if I were you, I would think very carefully about what answer you give me. _Where is she?_ ” he said lowly. 

She let out a breath, and shook her head. “I’m Rose.” 

“No, you’re not,” he said. She hesitated, and then she ran. He ran after her, dodging people who were heading into the loo. He pushed them against the wall as he tried to find where Rose’s copy had gone, and he saw her running up a set of stairs at the back of the room. He ran toward them, when he suddenly felt something hit him on the back of the head, and he slumped over.


	3. Clever Girl

Rose awoke with a throb in her head. Her eyes fluttered open slowly, and she could tell there was something keeping her hands tied. Her chest was heaving a little as she tried to sit up, and realized she was already doing that, wrapped up against something round. A pillar or pole perhaps? 

The room was dark, and smelled of oil. She could taste a hint of blood on her lips, and she wiped it clean with her tongue, grimacing. The last thing she remembered was a popping sound, looking at the Doctor as she took part in the magic show. 

The magic trick. She disappeared. 

She shifted against the pole now, her Instincts telling her to remain calm, and she could feel her sonic screwdriver poking her from her pocket. She swallowed hard, her throat rather dry, and closed her eyes, letting out a deep breath and trying to see what she could infer from her other senses. 

The smell of oil was strong, but in the distance she could hear voices. A man and a woman. Scottish. She began to move her fingers, and felt something cold and hard. She was definitely tied to a pole. 

She smirked to herself, thinking that her husband would absolutely lick the ground for more information. That’s when she felt the panic begin to rise, and for a moment it was overpowering. She couldn’t hear him. She took a breath, and realized the hum in her head was muted, the way it is when he sleeps. She tried to nudge him, but nothing happened. She leaned her head against the pole, and focused on her breath. 

She needed to figure out where she was and who those people were. He would wake up eventually, he had to. She tried not to worry too much as to _why_ he might be asleep. He would come. Or she would escape and find him. One way or another, they were saving each other and getting out of here. She knew they would. 

“Hello?” she whispered. The drip of water began to sound off behind her, and she heard a little bit of shuffling on both sides of her. 

“Hello?” a voice said. It was a man’s, probably about fifty or so. He sounded defeated. 

“Are you okay?” she asked him. The man didn’t say anything, but she heard more shifting, as if he was trying to sit up to talk to her. 

“I’m Norm,” he said. “Who are you?” 

“Rose,” she whispered. 

“You’re the girl with the flower. I saw your trick. I was the next volunteer,” he told her. “Where are we?”

“I don’t know,” Rose said. He began to shout for help, and Rose shushed him quickly. 

“Don’t do that,” she hissed. “Look, I’m sort of..I can get us out of here, okay? Just stay quiet.” 

He ignored her and kept shouting, and the door burst open. A shot was fired. Rose jumped and bit her tongue to stop from screaming. 

“Shut up or the next one will be in your skull,” the female’s voice said, and the door shut. 

It was silent for a moment, and Rose heard a suppressed sob. “I’m sorry,” Norm said. She leaned her head against the pole. 

“Just let me think, yeah?” she said. 

“I’ve tried to get out of here for two days,” another voice said, this time from Rose’s other side. “They killed the other volunteer from my show this morning.” 

Rose turned to the sound. It was a woman, and Rose clenched her jaw like her husband does. “I’m Rose,” she said. 

“Heather,” she said. “I don’t know what they’re planning to do with us. There’s one more back there, his name is Alfred. He won’t talk.” 

Rose heard the dripping stop, and she realized Alfred must be controlling it somehow. She closed her eyes again. She wasn’t alone, and that made it easier and also much harder. 

She tried to nudge her mind to the Doctor’s again, but he was still asleep. She sighed. 

“Do any of you know who they are? The people on the other side of the door?” she asked. No one spoke, and she ran her tongue along her lower lip, trying to stop the blood that was starting to spill again. “Great.” 

She tried to focus on what was keeping her hands tied, and could tell it was metal of some sort. She sighed. If she could reach her sonic she could undo it without a problem, but it was tucked in her pocket. She turned to Heather, who she could sense was closest to her. 

“Heather?” she said. “I have something in my back pocket I need you to grab and hand to me, you think you can do that?” 

“I can try,” she said. Rose scooted toward her voice, and shifted, suppressing a cry from the pain she felt in her wrist from moving at this angle. “Where are your hands?” 

“Tied,” she said. Rose nodded.

“Okay, can you use your feet? Kick me if you need to, I don’t care, it’s my right pocket, can you try to push up on the screwdriver you feel in there?” she asked. 

“A screwdriver?” Heather said. Rose just bit her lip. 

“Heather, please,” she said. The woman paused, but shifted her feet, also tied, and tried to push against Rose. It was dark and she couldn’t quite see, so she missed the first few times, pushing against her hip, her thigh, her back, and then finally found her back pockets. It took a few minutes, and slight redirections from Rose, but eventually the sonic slipped out, and rolled toward Rose. She sighed. 

“Thank you,” she said. “Can you kick it toward me?” 

Heather did, and Rose inched her fingers as long as she could make them, trying to grab a hold of it. The felt the tip, the part with the light and let out a small cry, and felt another set of feet helping to push it into her hands. It was Norm. “Thank you.” 

“Don’t mention it. What are you thinking?” he asked. Rose’s face scrunched in pain as she finally had a firm grip on the sonic, and swallowed hard to try and make her throat less dry. 

“Don’t know yet. My husband and I…” she said, trying to type in the proper code with her memory of the settings’ order. “We’re Time Travelers. Problem solvers… We solve...mysteries,” she said, pausing as she tried a new setting and wincing when it wasn’t working. She just needed setting 209, and somehow her fingers weren’t punching it in correctly. “He’ll come for me. I know he will, but I don’t want to just sit here while we wait for that.” 

“You’re a time traveler?” Heather asked. Rose didn’t say anything, but she let out a sigh of great relief when she scanned the screwdriver and had managed to get the proper setting, and her handcuffs fell to the floor. She quickly looked at the door, her chest heaving again, and scanned her feet. 

Once she was free, she moved to Heather and undid her restraints. “Everyone stay where you are, don’t move, make it look like you’re still tied up, yeah?” 

They all nodded, not that Rose could see it, as she moved to Norm, freeing him, and finally made it to Alfred. “Are you hurt?” she asked. 

He didn’t say anything, but she touched her hand to his, and he felt cold. Blood loss, she knew immediately. He was losing too much blood. Rose frowned and undid his binds, then switched the settings and scanned him carefully, glancing at the door from the corner of her eye. He was fading quickly. His heart rate was slow, and she bit her lip, letting out a shaky breath. “Where is the wound?” 

She realized, as soon as she asked, that he wasn’t talking because he didn’t want to, but because it hurt too much. Chest wound. 

Her Instincts kicked in. She immediately threw her jumper off, now wearing only a white spaghetti strap camisole, and wrapped it around his chest, applying pressure. She covered his mouth with her hand as he screamed, and she felt her jaw tremble. 

She could bring life, she knew. But she can’t control it. 

Or could she? 

Her eyes turned gold, and she focused all her attention on Bad Wolf, and tried to isolate the power in her head. Compartmentalize it, something she had tried to do before and was often draining, but now it was working perfectly. 

This time, it all felt very different. 

And she smiled despite herself, realizing her connection _had_ shifted over the last two weeks, she just needed a boost to see it. 

She was dancing in tandem with the wolf she saw, whereas before it could over power her, exhaust her… 

She remembered Aquatica and how much she had to sleep to work off the energy. And she could tell that wouldn’t be the case anymore. Her mind was stronger. 

She placed a hand on his chest, and closed her eyes. A warm light radiated from her, and Heather and Norm stared at her awestruck as the light disappeared inside of Alfred, and he gasped. 

“Shhhhh,” Rose said, and he nodded. 

“Oh my god. I can breathe,” he whispered, his voice choked and hoarse. “Thank you. Oh, my god.” 

Rose nodded, and helped him sit up. She placed a finger over her lips. “Can you tell me what happened?”

“I was here before Heather. They killed the other person from my group, too. Shot me with something...not a gun, but I had this pain…” he said. 

“How long ago?” Rose asked. 

“Four days,” he said. 

Rose suddenly returned to her spot immediately. She could hear footsteps on the other side of the door and it swung open. The burly man she ran into before was standing in the doorway. 

“Next shipment is scheduled to depart in three hours. The black haired one will be on it,” he said, and slammed the door. The room was silent for a moment. 

“Which one of you has black hair?” Rose asked. “Didn’t pay that close of attention, sorry. Sure you’re all gorgeous.” 

“Me,” Alfred said. Rose bit her lip, and blood trickled again. A flash came to her mind suddenly, a memory of getting punched when she tried to resist the restraints. And one of her fingers getting pressed to something small and metal, burning her prints. She could feel it now as she rubbed her thumb along her pointer finger. 

“All of you, stay here. I’ll be right back,” she said, and she got up, peering through the small window of the heavy door. They were clearly in a cargo hold she realized. A ship? 

If they were on a ship, they must be by the engines, and that must be where the oil was coming from. It all started to click a little in her head and she peered through the window a little further. The hallway she could see looked clear, and she clicked her tongue against jaw, thinking. 

She needed the Doctor.


	4. Hypnosis

When he awoke, he was on the ground of the castle, with people gathered around him. 

“We called an ambulance, they’ll be here soon,” he heard someone say. He squinted and rubbed the heel of his hand to his eyes as he sat up, and then suddenly remembered what happened. 

“No need, I’m fine,” he said, and stood quickly. He felt wobbly for just a moment, and looked down, where a glass was shattered at his feet. That must be what hit him. He searched the room for anyone suspicious, but everyone was just gathered by his side, trying to make sure he was okay. “How long was I out?” 

“Not sure, we walked out of the show and you were on the ground. We don’t know where your wife is. She’s the one with the flower, right?” a young woman said. The Doctor felt his hearts drop to his stomach. 

Rose. 

He didn’t say anything else to the crowd, but he ran to the stairs the copy of her disappeared to before he was hit. He bounded up them quickly, and pulled his sonic screwdriver out, scanning everything as he went. 

Rose had asked him once, years ago, to scan for alien tech, and he decided to give that a go with an adjusted setting. His face was cold and calculated and he ducked behind a wall, waiting for the results. 

There was something through a door to his right. He clenched his jaw and moved slowly toward it. 

He kicked it open, too angry to keep scanning things, and the copy of Rose was sitting on the bed. It jumped at the sound. 

“Don’t move,” he said, holding his screwdriver out. “Don’t you dare move. Not a muscle, you hear me?” 

The copy looked at him, and he moved to stand in front of her. He noticed she had been playing with her wrist, and he realized she was the alien tech he detected. He looked her over, his eyebrow deducting, and his chest was rising and falling rapidly. 

She moved to tackle him, and he grabbed her and shoved to the ground first, scanning the wrist she had been playing with. He noticed a very thin bracelet, metal and nearly invisible, wrapped around it, and the scan told him all he needed to know. 

Camouflage Shield. 

Rose’s fingerprint was on it. 

He broke the bracelet as the copy threw herself back, kicking the Doctor in her attempt to escape. As soon as the bracelet fell to the ground, she let out a scream, and the Doctor jumped back and rolled under the bed, hiding for a moment as he watched the copy transform from Rose into a creature. It’s skeletal structure was similar to humans, but it’s skin was pasty and gray, and the Doctor watched as the hazel galaxies of his wife morphed into wide, bug-eyed lenses, dark and hollow to look at, and her blonde hair fell away entirely. Bald and broken, it still wore her clothes, a green jumper and black jeans. It was sniffing for the Doctor. 

He had never seen this race before, and he couldn’t tell if it was scared, or angry, or both. 

Suddenly, the gentle hum in his head returned, and he felt Rose nudge his mind. Everything around him stopped, and he brought his hand to his mouth to stop the sob that he suddenly felt threaten to escape, and he closed his eyes, letting her in immediately. 

He was overcome by a wave of pain, and he clenched his fist to stop from screaming. 

_Rose?_

_Doctor!_

He let out a breath, the relief he felt staggering. But the pain she was in was visceral in his body, and he clenched his jaw. 

_What happened?_

_Long story. I’m on a ship, I think. There are three people with me, and two others seem to be in charge. One of them is the wrapper man._

Her voice in his head was inebriating for a moment, and he had to remind himself he was in danger himself and he had to stop this creature before he could get to her. 

_You’re hurt._

_A little._

He felt his anger boil inside of him, and she sent him a soothing wave of reassurance. They could talk to each other, and that made her feel better than she had a minute ago. 

_I love you so much,_ her voice rang in his head, and he felt a tear spill over. 

_I love you, Rose. Stay hidden, stay safe. I will be there soon._

He didn’t want to, and it physically hurt him to do it, but he put his block up so she could focus on herself and those with her as he slid out from under the bed, and looked at the creature before him. 

“Looking for me?” he asked. “Take me to your leader.” 

He wished Rose was here. He had always wanted to say that, and he wanted to see her grin at him. 

The creature screamed, it’s breath hitting the Doctor and pushing his hair back. He grimaced, and gave it a rather disgruntled face as it began to charge at him, and he ran. 

He moved through the hallway, back down the stairs, and the people in the lobby began to scream when they saw the thing chasing after him. 

One woman applauded, thinking it was part of a magic trick. 

“GET OUT OF THE WAY!” the Doctor screamed, and people began to dodge him, jumping to the side. The Doctor turned, and saw it jump over the stairs and land with a thud on the ground. “That’s it! Good...whatever you are. Where are you from?” 

The creature just screamed again, and he sighed and ran. This didn’t appear to be a sentient race, but rather one that someone else could control easily. The camouflage bracelet was placed on it by someone. Whoever was in charge. 

He grinned. 

He realized he had led them to the gift shop. 

He jumped over the counter and grabbed a hypnosis kit, and tore it open. The creature was screaming again, and the Doctor held the disk up, swinging it back and forth. He was a genius when it came to the brain, no matter if that brain was human, or Time Lord, or something else entirely, and he had the creature wrapped around his finger in a minute. 

“Good, that’s good, see? I’m not going to hurt you. I’m sorry they did that to you, and I want to help you. My wife, well, she’s the one who would probably know more about what to do to make that happen, I s’pose. BUT! Good news! We can get to her. You were pretending to be her, you remember that?” he said. The creature just looked at him. He took a deep breath. “Sit.” 

It sat. 

“Dance,” he said, testing how well his hypnosis was working. The creature stood and began to moonwalk around the room, and he raised his eyebrows at it. “Well done.” 

The creature stopped and looked and looked back at the Doctor. He sighed. “Take me to who is in charge. Who put that bracelet on you?” 

The creature moved forward, and broke through the back door. The Doctor followed, and nudged his mind to Rose. 

She let him in, but it was chaotic.

_I’m on my way._

_A little busy!_


	5. Hold on Tight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little lengthy, but its my favorite one and has lots of important things in it. Thank you for reading!

She was _quite_ busy. 

She had snuck out the door, her Instincts telling her to move despite the fact the Doctor told her to stay put. She was never one to do that. Alfred, Heather, and Norm were still in the cargo hold, but she was down the hall, trying to find out why they were all being held and what the burly man meant by ‘shipment.’ 

She knew they weren’t ones who would hesitate to kill, not after what Heather and Alfred told her, and every brush of her feet against the tile made her heart flutter. Her wrists were killing her, there were open gashes from where the metal dug into her while she was trying to get the sonic screwdriver out of her pocket. She knew her face was bruised, and her lip was bleeding again. She also had a headache from the loss of her connection to the Doctor for that long when it wasn’t done naturally. 

But she was putting it all aside as best she could. She had first connected with him before she pushed through the door, and she could tell he was dealing with something as well. But he was awake. He was okay. She was okay. 

They would make it out of here. 

She looked around, and could hear voices through a door just ahead of her. She ducked, crawling to it, and a small trail of blood followed her from her wrists. She leaned against the wall, and pressed her ear to the door. 

“What of the blonde?” the woman asked. 

“She’s trivial. I told Rowana to choose her. Had a feeling about her when I met her. She seems weak,” the burly man said. Rose stifled a laugh. 

“Should she go next?” the woman asked. 

“Her and the other woman. Together. The more bodies we send him the faster he will let us off this go forsaken planet,” he said. 

Rose rubbed her tongue along her bottom lip, and tried to see if she could peer into the room, but the door was solid. She heard them shuffle, however, and she scrambled backwards, tucking herself behind a trash can. 

“We could just kill them,” the woman said as they closed the door. The burly man sighed. 

“He was mad about the other two,” he said. “But if things get out of hand. Yes. And Rowana will just have to send us more. She knows if she does what we say we’ll let her live.” 

“Pathetic, humans are,” the woman said with a laugh. 

Rose tried to catch a glimpse of them, and they turned down the hall she was in. She held her breath, her eyes trailing them as they walked right past her. When they had gone far enough down the hall, she slipped out from behind the trash can and moved to the door, sonicing it open and closing it quietly behind her. She immediately noticed there was a security camera in the corner, and she quickly aimed the screwdriver at that as well, severing the feed. 

She suspected she would have only minutes before whoever was watching the security tapes would send someone in, and she ran to a file cabinet, throwing it open and searching for anything that could tell her what was going on. 

She felt the Doctor nudge her mind. 

_I’m on my way._

_A little busy!_

She could feel his smile that he could connect with her, and it made her smile. 

_I didn’t stay put._

_I figured._

She grinned wider, and felt a wave of love hit her from his hearts. She took a deep breath, letting it recenter her, and kept focusing on the papers around her. 

_Tell me if you see anything. The two people in charge aren’t from Earth. Said the more bodies they send ‘him’ the sooner they can leave,_ Rose told him. 

_Do you know who they mean?_

_No._

She let him see what she saw, all the papers and files scattered on the floor, and he helped her sort through them, telling her which ones seemed rubbish and which ones didn’t. She glanced over her shoulder at the door, thinking she could hear footsteps, and she turned back quickly, shoving everything back in the cabinet and moving to the desk. 

She threw the drawers open, and the Doctor saw her wrists. 

_Rose...Oh, Rose..._

_I’m fine._

_No, you’re not._

He was worried about her, she could feel it, and she just swallowed, still trying to sooth her dry throat, and looked at the desk. 

She picked up a picture of the creature the Doctor was currently trailing. More information about it was typed below the photo, and the Doctor frowned. 

_Let me see that for a second._

She locked her gaze to it, and felt his pulse quicken. 

_What is it?_ Rose asked. 

_Of course. I’m an idiot. I have one with me, it was pretending to be you...They’re called the Wimpers, they’re basically the least respected class of the planet Wicc. The people in charge must be Wiccens._

Rose put the picture down, and moved to the door, sliding out of it and slowly making her way back to the cargo hold. 

_Wiccens? Sounds an awful lot like -_

_Wicken? Yeah. Coincidence. They’re just...incredibly good at disguises. They’re the masters of disguise in fact. They trick people using camouflage or illusions. The people in charge are probably wearing a disguise now. Sort of like witchcraft, but it’s really just advanced technology. Less witchcraft, really, and more -_

_Science,_ she finished for him, and love coursed through them both, easing the throb in her head. 

She managed to make it back into the cargo hold, where the other three were waiting with bated breath. 

“You’re alive!” Heather shouted, and Rose shushed her. 

“We’re next, Heather. After Alfred. They’re alien, and we’re being offered as some sort of...I dunno, bait or ransom or something so they can leave the planet,” she said. 

Norm scoffed, “There is no such thing as aliens.” 

“Don’t argue, Norm. We don’t have time,” Rose said. She sounded like him, the Doctor thought in her head, and she smirked. “We have to escape. My husband is on his way. We’ll wait for him.” 

“How do you know?” Alfred asked. He had moved from the back of the room to sit beside Heather, and Rose didn’t answer him. The footsteps could be heard again from the hallway, and Rose kept her connection open as she ushered everyone else to sit. 

The door swung open, and the burly man grabbed Rose. “You severed the security camera. We saw you.” 

He punched her, and the Doctor screamed her name from the field. He could see the ship she was on at the edge of the shore. The castle sat on a small island, but as the man began to hit Rose, a fury and pain inside of him overtook him, and he bolted. 

Rose collapsed to the ground, and tried to close her mind. 

_Don’t you dare, I need to know you’re alright._

_Doctor, you’ll feel everything._

_Rose, I swear to God…_

She could feel his anger and she closed her eyes as the next punch came. 

“FIGHT BACK!” Norm shouted, and Rose looked at him. 

“No, don’t!” Rose screamed at the burly man, but he pulled out a gun and shot Norm in the head. “NOOO!” 

Heather screamed, too. Alfred covered his face and trembled, and Rose felt so much anger. Hers and the Doctor’s mixed together, and her eyes glowed gold. 

She pushed the gun out his hand, and threw him back against the wall. 

He coughed from the impact, and Rose grabbed the gun, aiming it at him. 

“Talk,” she said, wiping blood from her forehead and spitting some on the floor beside her. The burly man stared at her. 

“Who are you?” he asked. 

“Not as weak as you thought, hm?” she asked. Her eyes were angry. “You just killed him. He didn’t do anything and you killed him.” 

“There’s plenty more where he came from,” the man said. Rose fired a warning shot against the back wall, and the man began to laugh. 

The Doctor was so close to her. The creature was still leading him to it’s leader, and they passed a room. Screaming could be heard inside, and he realized the rest of the Wimpers were being kept in cages inside, it managed to enrage him more. 

Rose felt it, and took a deep breath. The anger was too much, hers and his boiling inside of her, and she sent him an apology as she blocked her mind. Her ring pulsed rapidly, most likely from his panic, but she tried to ignore it. 

“Who are you sending us to?” Rose asked the man. He tried to stand, but Rose flashed another blast at him and then grabbed the handcuffs, the gun still in her hand. Alfred grabbed another pair, and they secured his hands and feet as he coughed, trying to recover. 

The door burst open, and the Doctor stood in the archway. The Wimper was in the hall, and Rose turned to him, dropping the gun immediately and running to him. He caught her in a fierce hug, relief flooding through him. He kissed her head, and the others watched. The Doctor looked at her face, tracing the blood and bruises with his thumb gently. His expression was stone cold, but when he looked over her shoulder at the man, the fury of the Oncoming Storm was full and raging. 

“Planet Wicc? Right? Is this what you're doing? Using a teleport or something to send humans here from that magic show? Disguising Wimpers to fill in for them so their loved ones don’t get suspicious and you send them to your homeland? Torturing them all? Why? For what?” he spat, the man stared at him. 

“Freedom,” the man purred. The Doctor was staring at him, and he shook his head. 

“No,” he said. “Don’t buy it.” 

The woman appeared, “Why is there a Wimper…” 

She trailed off when she saw her partner tied up, a dead body on the ground, and when she felt the Doctor’s anger direct itself toward her. Rose grabbed another set of handcuffs and moved to her, quickly locking her in too. She moved her next to the burly man and shoved her down. 

They looked at both her and the Doctor, and Heather was crying behind them.

“See, we have a bit of a problem,” the Doctor began. It was the tone Rose knew was his most angry. He wasn’t yelling, he was actually very quiet, very calculated, and he stared at the two Wiccens with a vengeance lined in his eyes. “You tried to kill her. And that makes things simple, really, very simple.” 

Rose slipped her hand into his. He looked at her. It didn’t make him feel any better, not as he took in the dried blood in her hair, the purple along her mouth, or the swelling under her eye. It just enraged him more. 

He sniffed, looking back at the trembling figures on the floor, who were very slowly realizing they lost. The woman began to tremble. “Our emperor, he sent us here.” 

“Keep going,” Rose said, and the Doctor felt her squeeze his hand again, sending his reassurance.

“We need...” she began, but the burly man groaned. 

“Shut up,” he growled. The Doctor’s nostrils flared as he looked at him. 

“Hey,” Rose said, kneeling down and trying not to wince as she did, “look at me.” 

The woman did, and Rose gave her a soft side smile. Her Instincts were waking up, and she knew she would get what she needed from her. 

“We’re both wanted for embezzlement back home. He’s my idiot brother, he… doesn’t matter,” the woman whispered. “We’ll be freed if we fulfill our task. We were told to collect a handful of humans, ones who seemed unimportant, and teleport them back to Wicc. It’s for a new disguise we’re trying to create. The teleport is in the Captain’s Quarters. I’m...I’m sorry.” 

Rose didn’t feel sympathy for her, and there was no actual remorse in her voice. She sighed. 

“I believe you,” Rose began, standing to hold the Doctor’s hand again. “Or at least I would, had you not shot my friend in front of me. And if you hadn’t killed at least two others that I know of, and if I hadn’t heard you debating killing us earlier.” 

She wiped her mouth where fresh blood had started to trickle down, and she sighed. For a moment, the Doctor properly thought about killing them. Grabbing that gun and shooting, or breaking the water line that was above their heads and crushing them. Clearing the room and leaving them inside, lighting a match and letting all that oil take its natural course. His blocks were up, but he knew that somehow Rose still knew that it wasn’t the first time he considered this since he opened that door. She squeezed his hand, bringing him back to her. 

“You said before the next shipment was in three hours. What happens? How much longer?” she asked the woman. She sneered at her. 

“Ten minutes,” she cursed. “The teleport will open, and we send the subjects through.” Rose nodded. 

“Heather, Alfred, come with me,” she said, but the Doctor held her hand tighter. 

“I’m not leaving you,” he told her. She pulled him into a hug. 

“I love you,” she said. He felt his throat tighten. Somehow they hadn’t yet said those words since he found her amidst all the chaos, and he never wanted to go that long without saying them again. 

“I love you, too,” he murmured. It was all catching up with him, and he tried to push it all aside until he knew she was safe, but his eyes brimmed with tears for a moment and Rose could feel his heart rate increase. “Rose…” 

“I know,” she said, pressing her hands over his hearts. “You got me. I’m not going anywhere. I’m okay, yeah? This is all superficial.” 

He closed his eyes, and felt her press her lips to his. He kissed her back very carefully, and pulled away, sighing. 

“We can send them back in the teleports,” he said. “Both of them. And the Wimpers. And close it for good.” 

“Okay,” she said. “Together.”

He nodded, and moved to brush her hair out of her face. It revealed a new bruise, and he clenched his jaw again. She kissed his wrist, and nudged his mind with hers. 

_We’re okay. Let’s just save the others and go home._

He hesitated, and eventually sighed. 

“Today is your lucky day,” he told the two Wiccens, “we send you back, you never return. And if you do, I promise you I will not hesitate to kill you. No second chances.” 

They nodded, and Rose grabbed the gun, holding it in her hand as she turned back to Heather and Alfred. “Come on, I want to get you two out of here.” 

They stood, and the Doctor grabbed the two Wiccens, pushing them ahead of him and telling the Wimper to watch them. They walked toward the Captain’s Quarters, and the Doctor stopped by the room the rest of the Wimpers were in, hypnotizing them as well. If Rose was feeling better, she would have made some witty comment, but all she could do now was watch as the creatures trailed them silently on their way to the teleport. 

The Captains Quarters were large, with lots of wooden beams and brilliant blue curtains and bedding. It reminded Rose of the TARDIS, and she could see the teleport in the middle of the room. A large blue circle. It was a different kind of teleport than the one they came across in Aquatica, and the Doctor kept the Wiccens by the door, telling them that he was letting the innocent ones go first. There were only about eight Wimpers, and he sent them two at a time. He opened the teleport early, scanning it with his sonic screwdriver as they slowly disappeared. 

Rose watched silently, ignoring the throbbing under her eye and around her mouth. The Doctor looked at her, concern lined on his face, but she shook her head telling him it was nothing and he turned toward the Wiccens. 

“Alright. Go,” he said. 

The woman moved forward and stood on the teleport. The burly man glared at the Doctor, who glared right back. He turned, walking toward the woman, and the Doctor wrapped Rose in a hug. 

Rose’s Instincts sensed it before it happened and her eyes locked with the Doctor’s. He peered over her shoulder and saw the man suddenly turn back around, and charged toward them. The Doctor’s hand grabbed the gun from Rose, and fired once, one arm still wrapped around her protectively, his face perfectly stone cold and unforgiving as the man fell and the woman screamed. Rose turned around, and she pressed her sonic screwdriver this time, sending the crying woman back. 

No one said anything, and the Doctor’s hand found Rose’s. 

She looked over at Heather and Alfred, who looked dazed. Rose knew the sooner they got them out the better. And she also knew the fastest way to get rid of the teleport was through her. 

“Can you take them out of here?” she whispered. She didn’t want to scar them more, and the Doctor looked at them. 

“Come on,” he said quietly. His tone was entirely different with them, and he led them outside with a glance to Rose. 

When the door closed, she felt her jaw tremble, but she suppressed everything she was feeling as she raised her hand, and a burst of light shot out and severed the teleport’s main line. The blue light dissipated, and then disappeared entirely. 

Her mind thought of Rowana, and she pulled out her sonic screwdriver, scanning the room for a second possible teleport, but it was clear the trick sent the volunteers through the one she just destroyed. She avoided looking at the burly man on the ground as she slipped out the door, and slipped her hand in the Doctors. 

_Blow the ship up. Just in case,_ she thought. He looked at her, and he knew it must be her Instincts talking. She was looking straight ahead as they walked down the hallway, and the Doctor led them back up to the top of the ship, where the sun was starting to set over the horizon. Rose, Arthur, and Heather all squinted and felt dizzy when the sunlight found them, and the Doctor swallowed hard when he saw just how severe all three of their injuries were. 

“Do you want medical treatment? I’m a doctor, our ship is across the field, I could help,” he said. Heather and Alfred looked at each other, and both nodded reluctantly. 

“Who...what are you two?” Heather asked. “You glow, and you...you’re just...I don’t know.” 

“We’re the good guys,” Rose said. The Doctor took a deep breath. 

“I’m the Doctor, and this is Rose Tyler,” he whispered. Rose felt hot tears threaten to spill over, but she once again suppressed them. The Doctor clenched his jaw as they all began to walk back toward the TARDIS. He let Rose take them inside, knowing she would lead them to the infirmary and explain the whole ‘bigger on the inside’ thing as he ran across the field again, and stared down at the ship on the shore. 

He switched his sonic to setting 1001 - the lightning setting Poseidon gave him, and flashed. 

He walked away wordlessly as the ship went up in flames. 

Heather was standing outside the TARDIS when the Doctor walked up to it. 

“What’s wrong?” he asked. 

“I don’t know that I can trust you,” she admitted. The Doctor sighed. He really couldn’t blame her, he supposed. He just nodded. 

“I...I know,” he said. “If you want to just go home, that’s fine. I just wanted to offer help, if you wanted it. Not keeping you here.” 

She looked at him, and they could hear a little bit of laughter from the inside. The Doctor pushed the door open and saw Rose telling Alfred about how many rooms there were, and he was awestruck. The Doctor felt his throat tighten. 

He knew how much pain she was in. He knew how emotional she was, how tired she was, and how broken she was feeling. But there she was, his perfect pink, yellow, and gold human, putting on a brave face and smiling in her infectious way to make Alfred feel more comfortable. 

He ignored Heather, and walked on board, wrapping his arms around her as he took over for her. She leaned against him. 

“Alfred, come with me,” he said. He looked at Rose. 

_I love you._

She nodded at him, unable to think or say it back, simply too overwhelmed at the moment. She sat in her chair, and let out a few tears until Heather decided to walk on board after all. She smiled a little at her, and grabbed her hand. 

“I’m sorry I scared you. I sort of...have a superpower, I guess you could call it. Didn’t know how to explain it when we were talking. I had to do it, to save you,” she said. Heather just stared at her, and Rose led her to the infirmary as well, watching from the doorway as the Doctor put on his own show, easing both of their fears as he gave them some medicine and scans to help speed up their healing process. 

Any other day, he would offer them a trip. 

Not today. 

He led them to the doorway about half an hour later, both already starting to feel better, and smiled at them. 

“Thank you,” Alfred said. “Both of you. For...everything.” 

The Doctor just nodded, and Rose stood behind him, ready to break but trying so hard not to, and then they watched them walk away. The fire department and police were on the scene now, investigating the ship explosion, and from over the Doctor’s shoulder Rose saw Rowana watching in shock from the grass as she waited for a ferry to come and pick her up with the other employees and take her home. 

She took a deep breath, and snuck past her husband, swallowing all emotion for a few more minutes. 

“Madame Rowana,” Rose said as she approached her. The woman gasped when she saw Rose, and her jaw trembled. 

“Rose?” she said. “I’m...I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry, I -” 

“I know,” Rose said. “I just wanted to tell you they’re gone. You’re free. And you should be ashamed of yourself.” 

She turned around without another word, ignoring Rowana’s cries and apologies as she walked back onto the TARDIS. The Doctor stood in the doorway for a moment longer, shooting a final look of disappointment at Rowana, and then closed the door. 

The moment they were alone, Rose broke. 

He was at her side in an instant, sitting on the grating beside her, pulling her against his body as she sobbed. He tried to stop his own tears and just be strong for her, but it was impossible, and they were a wet puddle of feelings for a few minutes, grasping at each other and holding on tight, just like Rose said they should earlier, under much different circumstances. 

They put their blocks up, they didn’t need them right now. They knew. 

The Doctor kissed Rose’s forehead, then her eyelids, then her cheeks, and she pulled away after a few more, and let out a shaky breath. 

“I’m gonna try something,” she said quietly. He watched her, rubbing his thumb along her hand as she focused her energy in the same way she did with Alfred, and placed it on her wrist. She cried out a little, and the Doctor watched her in shock as the gold light seeped into her skin and the gash suddenly looked like it had been healing for a week. She repeated the action on her other wrist, then her cheek, then her eye, and let fresh tears fall each time she did it. 

“Rose…” the Doctor said, breathless. She just looked at him. 

“I figured that out,” she said through tears. “Kinda cool.” 

He smiled, and couldn’t help but laugh at the words. It was just...so Rose. She sniffed and leaned against him, and he scanned her with his sonic screwdriver, just in case. She seemed, on paper, fine. 

But that didn’t stop him from just wanting to take care of her. 

He quickly brought them to the Vortex, then scooped her up, carrying her to their bedroom and laying her down on the bed. She watched as he helped her out of her white camisole, kissing her stomach, then her jeans, and wrapped a blanket over her, squeezing her hand. 

“Stay here. Be right back,” he said gently, and moved to the ensuite. He drew a bath, with bubbles, and asked the TARDIS to lower the lights, knowing the crying had given her a bit of a headache, and he moved back to her. She had been crying again, and he pulled her to him, and led her to the tub, helping her in. He stripped out of his suit as well and climbed in behind her.

It wasn’t sexy, or flirtatious. It was love. It was comfort. Solace. 

The here and now. 

He pulled her against his chest, the warmth of the water soothing to both of them, and he felt his own jaw tremble at the feeling of her in his arms. 

He had been _so_ scared. 

He wasn’t allowing himself to dwell. She was here. 

He wrapped his arms around her, the back of her head resting in the crook of his neck, and they didn’t speak. She found his left hand, and began to play with his ring, which made his breath catch. 

He had no idea how long they stayed there, and he didn’t care. The TARDIS kept the water perfect and warm, and Rose would occasionally wipe tears away from her cheeks, but she mostly just felt the way he did. 

She savored the feeling of _him._

“I’m sorry,” he eventually murmured. She shook her head. 

“No, don’t,” she said. He kissed her head. 

“I brought us there,” he admitted. “I’m sorry.” 

She just pressed her body closer to his, and let out a breath. 

“I’m sorry you had to kill him,” she whispered. He shook his head. 

“I’m not,” he said. She looked at him, and he was rubbing swirls on her shoulder, already watching her. “I don’t regret decisions that keep you safe.”

“I love you,” she said. He squeezed her a little, shifting the bubbles that had formed around their arms. 

“I love _you,_ ” he said. “You were so brave, Rose.” 

“Was I?” she said. “I got Norm killed.” 

He felt his hearts break when she said these words. He had thought she was crying over what happened to her. But she wasn’t. She was crying over something that she had no control over, and it caused him to plant kisses on her shoulder, brushing his lips against her slowly, and he nudged his mind to her, and she let him in, relaxing against his touch and the warmth he was sharing with her. 

“That wasn’t your fault,” he whispered. Her jaw trembled, and his kisses grew faster, moving to her hand now, and then back to her shoulder. 

“Sure feels like it was,” she said, a new set of tears spilling onto her cheeks. He shook his head. 

“Was Michelle your fault?” he asked. She let out a sigh. 

“No,” she said. He nodded. 

“How is what happened to her and what happened to Norm any different? They interrupted, angered the bad guy, and were shot. It wasn’t you, Rose. You were doing everything you could to protect them,” he whispered, still kissing her shoulder. “Alfred and Heather saw that, they trusted you.” 

Rose bit her lip, and let out a shaky breath. She slid her hand into his and squeezed. 

“Thank you,” she whispered. He didn’t say anything, but he sent her a wave of love. She wrapped herself in it for a moment. “I thought you were dead.” 

New tears spilled over. 

“What?” he asked, shocked. She pressed her lips to his hand now. 

“When I first woke up, our connection was muted. And there was...a split second, it was just a second but...I thought you were...and then I realized I _could_ feel you, you were just asleep, but for that second my entire world stopped spinning,” she said, wiping tears away. “I almost lost my mind. You’re so worried about losing me, Doctor. But you forget...I’ve watched you die once.” 

Her words pierced his hearts, and he looked up at the ceiling, where the lights were dimmed. He closed his eyes. 

“I never thought about that,” he told her. 

It was silent for a little while, and Rose began to wash her body with a bar of soap. Their blocks were back up, and the Doctor was lost in thought. 

“Have I been selfish?” he asked. She turned her head up to him, placing the soap back on the tray. 

“What?” she asked. He sighed. 

“For nearly two years, Rose...I’ve run away from the thought of losing you. I’ve always made it about _me_ and how much it would affect _me_ if you were gone. I…” he broke off, and ran his hand over his face. “I’ve never asked you how you were doing, have I?” 

She leaned her head on his chest. 

“Fear makes us all act in ways we can’t control,” she whispered.

“That’s a nice way to say ‘yes’, Rose,” he said with a small smile. She smiled a little, too. 

“I get it, though. I really do,” she said. “I just...I don’t think I can watch you die again, Doctor.” 

He closed his eyes. 

“I don’t want to change, you know,” he whispered. “For as long as we have, I want it to be me and you, the way we are.” 

She flipped over so she was facing him, and she pressed her lips to his. His arms wrapped around her waist. It was a slow kiss, one without any urgency at all, one that was entirely lost in the moment, and when Rose pulled away, she sank down and pressed her entire body onto his. His hand came up to rest in her hair. 

He remembered the hope that had dominated their lives for the past couple of weeks, and he tried to focus on that. Rose pressed her lips to his chest. His eyes fluttered closed, and she felt the need to be with him overpower her. 

They almost lost each other again, but here they are. 

And they remembered at the same time, what his mother said. 

He made the proper choice. 

“They keep trying to split us up -” Rose began, and the Doctor smiled. 

“But they never ever will,” he finished, and she looked at him. “I know we’ll do everything we can to make that true, Rose.” 

Her lips found his again, this time a little more hungry than before. He responded, his tongue dipping into her mouth, tasting her, and his hands began to rub along her body. She reached for the towels on the bench by the sink and threw them on the ground, stepping out of the tub and laying them down on the floor. He stepped out as well, and kissed her again as she laid down on the towels, the water from their bodies absorbing into them as they began to make love, barely speaking, but minds connecting, allowing hope to surge through them. 

Allowing the pain, fear, and grief to be remembered, and then let go. 

Allowing each other to take it slowly, treasuring one another. He wasn’t thrusting, he was gliding, and she was gently rocking in tandem with him, sloppy, wet kisses on their bodies and they were breathing each other in. The only words they said were each other's names, in English and Gallifreyan, and the Doctor cradled her to him. 

It lasted for a while, and was never rushed. It was just them, taking in the moment, being together and not letting anything else get in their way. 

Rose chose to wear the Doctor’s t-shirt to bed that night, and he pulled her to him, both freshly showered as well despite their long bath, and he kissed the top of her head. “It’s a type of regeneration energy, I think.” 

“What?” Rose mumbled against him. He was rubbing circles in her hair, staring at the ceiling. 

“Your whole healing yourself thing,” he said. She tilted her head up so her chin was on his chest, and she hummed. 

Of course he’d been thinking about that. 

“Yeah, maybe,” she said. “But we ran the scans, I was -”

“I know,” he said. “I don’t think it’s the same type I have. The TARDIS must have adjusted it for you or something. When you looked the second time.” 

“Or I’ve always had it,” she said. “When I brought Jack back. I think it was the same thing. I can just..control it now. My mind is stronger, I noticed too. When I healed Albert, I went deeper than I had before. Maybe I...I dunno.” 

He continued to rub circles in her hair. Hope was finding him again. 

“At this point, Rose, I wouldn’t be surprised,” he whispered. “But...well...it makes me feel better.” 

“Me too,” she admitted. She kissed him again, and they both closed their eyes, letting themselves rest. “I love you.” 

“I love you, too,” he whispered, and they drifted off together, holding on tight.


End file.
